STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary chaired a meeting at Civil Secretariat here on Tuesday, to review the progress of ongoing and upcoming National Highway projects across Jammu region.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, PWD, Anil Kumar Singh; Engineer-in-Chief PW(R&B), Director Geology and Mining, Regional Officer NHAI J&K, Chief Engineer Project SAMPARK, Regional Officer MoRTH Jammu, Executive Directors NHIDCL Jammu and Srinagar, and Chief Engineer PWD Zone Pir Panjal, besides senior engineers and officers of the department.
During the review, the Deputy Chief Minister took a comprehensive assessment of projects being implemented by various central agencies like NHAI, NHIDCL, and Project SAMPARK.
The Deputy Chief Minister reviewed projects including Lakhanpur-Srinagar (NH-44), Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway (NH-5), Jammu Ring Road (NH-244A), Srinagar Ring Road (Phase-I, I1 & IIA), Chenani-Patnitop-Nashri (Old Alignment) NH-244, Jammu-Akhnoor (NH-44) and Chenani-Sudhmahadev, Goha-Khellani, and Chatroo-Khanabal (NH-244A).
He directed all executing agencies to strictly adhere the set timelines and maintain the highest standards of design and construction quality.
While reviewing the status of the Mangam-Dodhpathri-Shopian-Surankote section of NH-701A, being executed by Project SAMPARK, the Deputy Chief Minister instructed the concerned agencies to expedite the remaining works and resolve issues related to DPR modifications and Treasury releases at the earliest.
He asserted that work on all roads, tunnels and bridge projects be expedited across all highway projects to ensure timely completion of these projects.
The meeting also discussed the Srinagar Ring Road Phase-IIA project from Manigam to Pandach, directing the concerned to fast-track compensation processes to avoid delays in execution. He further underscored the importance of inter-agency coordination between PW(R&B), NHAI, NHIDCL, and MoRTH for overcoming procedural bottlenecks. He instructed officers to adopt a proactive approach in identifying field-level issues and resolving them promptly in consultation with the concerned departments. The Deputy Chief Minister called upon concerned to ensure speedy restoration of all affected infrastructure for public convenience.